James does it all against Bulls

But he just didn’t do enough of it as Cavs failed to go three up in playoff series

April 22, 2010|By Vaughn McClure, Tribune reporter

Cleveland's LeBron James passes off to Antawn Jamison in the 4th quarter. (Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune)

As the fourth quarter of Thursday night's Bulls- Cavaliers Game 3 playoff game got underway under way, a fan sitting in a second-row seat behind the Bulls' basket yelled, "It's game time, LeBron."

Based on the scowl on James' face at the moment, he didn't need a reminder. The 21-point deficit his team faced in the third quarter was enough motivation.

Moments after the fan cried out, James caught a pass in the high post, backed down Kirk Hinrich, then blew past Hinrich and threw down a resounding dunk with Joakim Noah tugging at his jersey.

James failed to convert the three-point play after the Noah foul, but he made his point clear: The final quarter was his time indeed.

He just needed a little more help — and time — in the end, as the Bulls escaped Game 2 Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round series with a 108-106 victory.

"We started the game a little too lax," James said. "I don't know why. Not a lot of urgency to start the game and it allowed them to get into a real comfort zone."

James made shots. He threw crisp passes to set up open shots. He played defense. All told, combined, he finished with a game-high 39 points on 14-of-26 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocked shots.

"Obviously, we got a terrific performance by LeBron,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "He put us on his shoulders, offensively, and almost got us the win.''

The reigning MVP's 3-pointer from the top with 11 seconds remaining left Bulls fans speechless and nearly helped the Cavs pull off a dramatic comeback. But because James wasn't able to touch the ball in the final seconds — although teammate Anthony Parker's desperation heave at the buzzer was close — the Bulls were able to extend the series, with the Cavs now up 2-1.

James would be the first to say he could have contributed more if he had not been whistled for a questionable offensive foul when he dipped into Luol Deng with 1 minutes, 18 seconds left in regulation, if he had not been stripped by Deng with less than a minute remaining and if he had not allowed Derrick Rose to score twice over him in the late stages.

"(Rose) does a lot of ball-handling, so, as a team, we don't want to put me on him for a long period," James he said. "With a game like this, I feel like w We still had an opportunity to win. He was playing particularly well and I wanted to switch off to him. … Tremendous player. Great game by him, and great game by their team."

"I saw Deng backpedaling," James said of the charge. "Me as a driver, I watch the defender's feet. I'm seeing if he's stationed or if he's still moving. To me, I feel like he was still backpedaling. Soon as I saw him backpedaling, that's when I decided to take off. And they called a charge. I haven't seen the replay, but I know exactly what I saw on the court with the defender right in front of me."

For all he did right, the "King'' actually had five turnovers and missed six free throws.

Yet no one is blaming James for the loss, and for good reason. But in the fourth quarter, he made 6 of 7 shots for 13 points and had five assists in 28 touches. His three turnovers, two miss free throws, and one miss shot in the quarter was all that kept him from perfection.

James had 24 points in the final 18 minutes. His block of ed a Taj Gibson layup with 6:58 left in the game nearly gave the Cavs enough momentum to overtake the Bulls. Instead, the Cavs had too many defensive lapses down the stretch.

"He's very good, man,'' said Noah, who was isolated against James several times following switches. I don't want to give him too much credit because we have to play him again.''